Great new Blog

I recently came across First Heralds, a blog dedicated to helping toddler and pre-schoolers learn about their Catholic Faith. I am very impressed by what I have seen so far. This particular are of religious education is of great interest to me, not just because I have a 3 year old, but people too often assume that this age group needs no religious education. I beg to differ. These are the most tender years, the ground for planting seeds is so fertile.

We have been blessed to use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd off and on. We are even more blessed because my husband's Aunt Tina wrote many of the materials and is a great encouragement to us. We are very fortunate to have been put on a good path for our children's religious education early on, many others are not. I see sites like First Heralds helping with the situation. Best of luck to them in all of their efforts!

Earth Hour

Tonight my family will participate in the Earth Hour. Why, you may ask? Well, to remind the whole family we need to use our resources better. I'm crunchy, but most of that crunchiness results from not a belief in climate change and its consequences, but a belief that we have a responsibility to use resources wisely to better our fellow man.

John Paul II constantly reminded people that there are not too many people on the planet, just a mis-distrubution of goods. This is why I conserve. We are so blessed to have the ability to turn on 20 lights at a time, but should we do that? Probably not. So tonight, we will turn off the lights for one hour, and pray for those who need electricity, and do not have access to it.

The Simple Joys of Sound and Silence

How often I take for granted the gift of my hearing, and along with that, the gift of silence. Yesterday we had another "everyone needs to get out of the house" hikes. Usually we are alone, but yesterday, there were, gasp other children where we hike. These kids were loud. I had never noticed before, but my kids are quiet when we hike. I think it is because we have spent time, listening to the world around us. We listen to the snow crunching under our feet, to the dry leaves rattling in the wind and tapping against the otherwise bare trees, we listen to the water in the distance gently tinkling over the worn rocks. This is our music. It is the most glorious music we could find, because it is that given to us by our Creator.

In the silence we hear sounds that give us hope, the "Spring's here" call of the chickadee, the loud trill of the sandhill crane, a sound we heard yesterday after the other children moved on, and much more. The sound of the crane, in particular, brings such joy. One year, we saw them migrate, but at least two other years, we heard them, without seeing. A simple lesson on faith, we did not need to see to confirm the sound, we just knew. The year I saw them, my daughter did not, she simply had to believe without seeing.

Even though snow still forms muddy piles around our hiking paths, we have faith that spring is hear. The sweet song of the chorus frog could be hear in the silence gently carried by the wind yesterday. The hope that comes from knowing that soon the cold and bitterness are coming to an end,and new life is spring forth, warms us, even while the air is still chill. We could barely hear the frogs, and when you get near them, they stop singing, but even my three year old announced Spring's return upon hearing the frogs.

We are no better than the average family, I get in the car, and turn on the i-pod, we listen to music, or TV or chatter all the time, but sometimes, we are silent. I wish I could say it happened in Church or adoration, but that would be a lie. God has given us a different way to adore him, especially when energy abounds. He gives us his creation, his beauty, his sound and silence.

The Plague of Bad Behavior

I've been busy, but really wanted to comment on this. My poor husband had to hear me rant for almost an hour Easter night while watching the news. My first thought, Are these people idiots??? My second thought was one of pity, that one could be so uninformed, that they could not see the consistent church teaching and action on the War in Iraq.

Has our society completely lost a sense of respect for the sacred? I mean, it was Easter. It was the newly re-opened Cathedral. As one parishioner said, "there were children there". Obviously these "catholic school girls" need to go back for a better education. They clearly did not learn the meaning of charity, respect or reverence.

Good Friday

The cold dark bitterness is covering the earth. The Sun does not shine,the ice on the ground mimics the ice of our hearts. We wait, in silence, for the dawn of that great day, Easter. We wait, eagerly, for the warmth, for the Sun, for the Joy to fill us. We know we do not deserve the gift being given to us, the life of our sweet Lord, yet that gift is so precious it is all we desire. There is great sweetness in you, sweetness that can overcome our sour nature. Our hearts, cold as they may be, yearn for you, O, Lord.

Have I mentioned lately that I love my Bishop?

Bishop Peter Sartain has breathed a breath of fresh air into the Joliet Diocese since he arrived here two years ago. This month, he again, has made a change, a good one, to help the flock he shepherds. He got rid of our diocese newspaper.

Our paper was quite simply a waste of trees. I have nothing good to say about it, and that might explain why only 8% of registered parishioners of the diocese subscribed. It was dated, and did not reflect the people of the diocese well. My in-laws loved it, it was written for them, and their sixties "let's reform the church" friends.

When Bishop Sartain arrived, he came with a journalistic wealth. He had had his columns from the Little Rock Paper published in a book form, which became a best seller up here. He is concise, and wise. He is humble and brilliant. A few people started reading the paper just to read his column, but it also became available on-line.

So what are we getting? Well, every registered parishioner will receive a new magazine to help them grow in there faith, the Bishop has replaced the old staff, and will be overseeing this new effort. Not only those who attend mass regularly will benefit from the good Bishop's wisdom, but the sheep who may be wandering. I feel so blessed to live here right now.

If you're coming to Chicago...

The Chicago History Museum recently opened a special exhibit called Catholic Chicago. My brother-in-law, an artist and museum curator, helped to set up it up. It runs until next January, and look very impressive. The CHM Website has some of the videos that they are running along with the exhibit.It really should be quite good, and hopefully the verbage is not biased in a negative way.

Chesterton Talk, in My Neck of the Woods?!?!!

I can hardly believe I get to go to a talk about Chesterton less than 3 miles from my home! BU is not known as a bastion of orthodoxy, so anything good there is rare, but Chesterton, I'm giddy!Pass the word,please.

More on Food -spices this time

I saw this at Family Centered Press, and just had to give it a go. Pretty accurate, plus, It's my hubby's favorite herb!

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

Food and Memories

I've been craving a certain food from my childhood, Chicken and Noodles, and have been unable to find the recipe. For most people asking mom would be the best solution, however, I cannot do that. My mom has severe memory loss. I know she would remember making this dish, but not what is in it. And to complicate matters, she can no longer walk, so she cannot even look for the recipe. Sure this stuff happens as people age, but my mom is 62, and has been like this for nearly 10 years. It bites, to be really honest.

She did not cook much, we did a lot of prepared meals (it was the 80's everyone did). There are very few foods I would like to try to recreate for my kids. My parents are in Florida for a week, so my sister and I took matters into our own hands and raided the recipe cabinet. I sifted through hundreds of recipes, but only found two I ever remember her making, she clipped many, but never made them. I did not find my two favorites, Chicken Paprika and Chicken and noodles. I left feeling really really sad. Like a piece of my childhood is gone forever. My sister never remembers my mother cooking, by the time she was born mom was sick often and worked when she was well, I feel worse for her, she has nothing as foods go to pass on to her 3 kids. I at least can try to re-create some of the recipes on my own.

Its funny, my dad spent most of my childhood talking about this wonderful Polish Cauliflower his mother made. She had died before I was born. He could never find a recipe that tasted like hers, shortly after I was married, I succeeded. Maybe one of my kids will be able to come up with a perfect recipe for me, but I'm impatient and have a chicken in the freezer that really needs noodles.

It is funny how tastes and smells elicit memories, rich, warm, lovely memories. Every time I eat a snowball cookie, I am transported back to my grandmother's kitchen. I can see her, playing cards, hear her voice, even though she died a decade ago. I want this for my kids, to have memories that are brought on my a simple cookie or soup, that makes them smile,and remember a loved one, long passed. My kids will not get this from my mom, but may from my Mother-in-law.

Take the time to write down those favorite recipes, no matter how often you make them, and put them in a special book for each child. You never know how special it might be for them. It is not just recipes, but a collection of memories for them to pass on. If you have a Chicken and noodles recipe to share, email me cdclil at sbcglobal dot net

It smelled like spring!

Here in Chicago we are used to big bad scary winters, but this year, well it was long, too. I say was, because today, it smelled like spring! We were our hunting for snowdrops, a sure sign that the winter is nearly over, sliding around on the iced-over trails, and enjoying every second. The air felt different, less harsh. Water was starting to melt, duck were wading in flowing streams, and the sky was bright blue, the deepest blue I've seen in months. Sure, it was still cold, but it seemed to be less brutal, like the earth is trying to wake from its deep sleep.

I find in really intriguing that Good Friday is the last day of winter this year. It seems so right. All that is death and coldness will fade in the warm light of the Resurrection. All of Creation will wake and sing to His glory, to celebrate the new day and new life. We usually hear Chorus Frog singing the first day of spring, this year I hope they wait a day, and wake the dawn on Easter morning with their joyous song. I hope to see the little glimpses of life, like daffodil shoots on Easter. It just seems the way it should be, earth wakes again as Christ Rises. After what seems like a long winter, and a very dark Lent, I look forward to the brightness of Spring and the Hope of the Resurrection.

If MY kids ever acted like that....

I'm back from Youth 2000. We had an awesome weekend, of course. I was so privileged to attend a Mass Friday night celebrated by His Eminence Francis Cardinal George. I've been to several masses he has celebrated, and each time I've been riveted by his simplicity and wisdom. This time, I was not as riveted, not due to anything he said or did, but due to the bad mannered youth behind me. I was embarrassed for them. They were talking, texting and generally goofing around WHILE THE CARDINAL WAS SPEAKING!!! I gave looks, I signaled my friend Br. Maximilian to plant himself among them, which he did, but these young people did not stop. It was really bad. Even the teens I brought were annoyed and mad, and these kids are just normal teens, but have been taught how to behave in church. Sure, Mass was being held in a gym with 300 teens, and sure, the teens had to sit on the floor, but the Cardinal is a Prince of the Church, and deserves respect.

Bad behavior in Mass is a plague. I've seen it everywhere I go, and I'm not referring to the under 7 crowd, who are still learning how to behave. Texting, i-pods, phones are great things, but not during Mass. I wish I could say that these kids showed more respect to the Priests giving talks outside of Mass, but they did not. The bad behavior continued, to the point that every priest who got up to speak gave a reprimand. It finally took Fr. Bob, CFR, separating any offending teen and sitting them next to the Polish Dominicans to get the nonsense to stop. Don't mess with a 5 foot tall sister in white who can scold you in 3 languages. The offending group's chaperones were as bad as the kids. They did nothing to get the kids to stop, and more than one had to be woken up. All this in the presence of the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

It is sad, the kids had the opportunity to sit in front of the Blessed sacrament, to go to confession and to hear some of the coolest priests around. God was calling them, but their ear buds were too loud. Sean at Blue Boar was commenting on bad behavior during a Fr. Loya talk by him. I love Fr. Loya, he gave an art tour to my kids at his Byzantine Parish. He has a great message, one teens need to hear, but they wasted that chance. I wish I had some brilliant solution, but sadly, I do not. All I can do is try to make my 3 appreciate all the gifts they are given as Catholics, so they love the Mass, the Priesthood and the wisdom of those who truly can educate them. Pray for our teens, there are so many great ones, but so many who will be lost if they do not see the great gifts the church has to give. It is hard to see those gifts when your eyes are focusing on what you are texting.